Ricoh R8 Concise Review

Ricoh is a camera manufacturer that tends to swim against the stream, not only in terms of product range but also in the way it schedules its product announcements. While all the big boys announced their new toys just before or right at PMA in Las Vegas, Ricoh decided to wait a couple of weeks longer and let the world know about the new addition to its compact camera range at a rather understated press event.

The R8 comes as an upgrade to the R7, itself launched a mere six months ago. The new model constitutes only a fairly minor upgrade. The key changes are the new, slightly boxier design, the inevitable increase in megapixels (from eight to ten) and a larger 2.7" screen which now has an impressive resolution of 460,000 pixels. The 28-200mm equiv. zoom and 3rd generation Smooth Imaging Engine have been carried over from the predecessor.

In addition the R8 comes with a number of interesting features which are rarely seen on the big manufacturers' cameras. The feature list includes a movable AF/AE target area, 1:1 image ratio option and levels and white balance adjustment in review mode, amongst others.

In the marketplace the Ricoh R8 will be up against such established opponents as the Panasonic TZ series or Canon's SX100 IS. We got one of the first R8 specimens on the launch day and have put it through the ordeal that is the dpreview test process. See how it managed all the abuse and how it shapes up against the competition on the following pages. As usual let's start with the headline features:

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